After a scheduled title fight against 135-pound titleholder Dominick Cruz fell through, Faber lost a lopsided unanimous decision last year to Pegado at UFC 149.

Faber said he had to rediscover his love for MMA following the defeat.

“A lot of people don't know the whole background to that fight and how it was kind of a letdown to be in that situation,” Faber told reporters at a UFC press conference Thursday. “I was coming off a year of promoting a fight (against) Dominick Cruz, in the biggest event of the year and a huge payday. There was some animosity there, so it was kind of a down time for me.

“I pride myself on not letting things like that bother me, but it was on my nerves a little bit, it was getting under my skin. Then I went out there and felt like I fought dead a little bit. I had to go realize the things I enjoy about this sport, regroup and get in a different mindset for the (subsequent) year, which you guys have seen -- three big wins.”

For McDonald, on the other hand, the issue was physical.

The 22-year-old standout had long considered himself a true martial artist at the expense of becoming a better athlete. Following his submission loss to Pegado in February, he was forced to go back to the drawing board. He has since rebounded in August with a submission win over Brad Pickett.

“I've always been a very traditional martial artist,” McDonald began. “I've always been about martial arts over athletics and I felt like I pushed that to the limit for my fight with Renan Barao. I felt like I finally got to the limit where I trained as hard as I could without focusing on my athletics. My body wasn't recovering fast enough and I wasn't putting the right foods in my body at the right times. It taught me a lot about my body.

“It just showed me that I have to embrace the athlete in me, not just the martial artist in me, because that's what I'd always done. Instead of getting bigger, I would have rather learned how to punch harder through technique. That was always my philosophy. After that fight, I (said), 'Why not do both?' It's really about putting more into my athletics.”

McDonald and Faber both aim to prove who's taken a larger step forward when they meet in the co-main event of UFC on FOX 9 in Sacramento, Calif. Dec. 14.

The winner is expected to face the victor of the upcoming title unification fight between Pegado and Cruz. The latter, who hasn't fought since a unanimous-decision win over Demetrious Johnson two years ago, has been sidelined due to a pair of knee surgeries to repair a torn ACL.

Though he's determined to secure his third UFC title opportunity, Faber said he isn't looking past McDonald.

“Of course there's the animosity between Cruz and I, so I'd love to see (a rubber match), but I also want to fight the best guys,” Faber said. “I've got to focus on Michael right now. The guy's no joke. I'm going against a dangerous kid and I have to take that seriously. That's all I'm focused on. If I get past that, it'll be four (wins) in a row and I can get in for a title (shot).

“But I think there are some things that need to happen first, before I make any statements about who I want to fight. I want to fight the best guys in the world. Barao seems like a nice guy, (but) Cruz gets on my nerves.”

Faber said McDonald's striking accuracy is among the best in the 135-pound division.

“What (McDonald) brings, that's super-unique to the weight class, is that he's really accurate. He's one of the most accurate strikers in the division and I'm one of the most durable and well-rounded fighters in the division. So that leads to an advantage for me, in my opinion. I look forward to being tested. He said he wants to test this big old chin here. I've been testing it for the last 10 years. It's solid.”

Though he was a fan of Faber when he first started competing in 2007, McDonald said any hero worship died years ago.

“I've had a lot of time to break that barrier between fan and now competition,” McDonald said. “I was like 16 years old when my competition started fighting. So I started off watching everybody else already doing it. I'm young in the sport, but I've had a lot of time to break that barrier. I'm not just their fan anymore, now they're my opponents.”

- Bellator 103 takes place Friday, October 11 in Mulvane, Kansas, and will be headlined by a lightweight scrap between David Rickels and J.J. Ambrose. Also, the featherweight tournament resumes, as Patricio Freire squares off against Fabricio da Silva and Joe Taimanglo clashes with Justin Wilcox. The event will be broadcast on Spike TV.

- Bellator 104 is set for Friday, October 18 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and features the semifinals of this season's welterweight tourney, as Rick Hawn meets Brent Weedman and Ron Keslar fights War Machine. Also K-1 veteran Peter Graham debuts against Eric Prindle. The show will air on Spike TV.

After a scheduled title fight against 135-pound titleholder Dominick Cruz fell through, Faber lost a lopsided unanimous decision last year to Pegado at UFC 149.

Faber said he had to rediscover his love for MMA following the defeat.

“A lot of people don't know the whole background to that fight and how it was kind of a letdown to be in that situation,” Faber told reporters at a UFC press conference Thursday. “I was coming off a year of promoting a fight (against) Dominick Cruz, in the biggest event of the year and a huge payday. There was some animosity there, so it was kind of a down time for me."